June 29, 2009

OregonLive.com interviews three Portland-based Twilight actors about their movie experience, including Ayanna Berkshire (Cora), Catherine Grimme (Young Bella), and Solomon Trimble, who had the following to say about losing the role of Sam Uley:

"I don't reprise my role in 'New Moon.' They replaced me with another actor, Chaske Spencer. I know him, he's really good, I have no problems with him whatsoever. (Sam) ends up being the leader of the wolf pack for the next two books. If I was replaced with a non-Native person, I would be, like, down there at the gates of Summit Entertainment (the company behind the "Twilight" movies) saying, 'This is injustice.' "

Read more about these Portland actors and what they're up to these days here.

I'm sorry ! I feel bad he got replace with someone who is non-native , that messed up , beacause the wolf pack is native and i think it would keep it real if they still had Solomon Trimble to play the roll of the native charcter Sam Uley.Im sorry Solomon Trimble !Really sorry!I hope to see you in other movies if your not going to be featured in The Twilight Saga.

There's never anything in Twilight saying Solomon's character was Sam Uley. I agree with the other anonymous person above about his delivery -although it wasn't bad for Solomon to be in the first installment of Twilight and as he wasn't actually Sam I don't see why he can't continue in some part. In any case he will improve in his craft and get other roles. The role of Sam requires a skilled and experienced actor - which Chaske Spencer is - far beyond Twilight standard in fact! Chaske is on his way to becoming one of the greatest Native actors in history - up there with Graham Greene and Johnny Depp - I would go so far as to say he may even win major awards like an Oscar one day. RE: Renesmee's comment: It is a moot point at present, but I do wonder whether Chaske (who has been working hard as an actor for some 20 years) would not have gotten many more major movie roles, (than the mere three he has had to this point), had he looked more like Solomon Trimble or whatever image it is Western culture has constructed for how a Native should look!

I agree with anonymous above. There is nothing in the first Twilight to say that Solomon was playing Sam Uley so in fact he could even continue to play some role in the series whilst he improves his craft. The role of Sam Uley requires a skilled and experienced actor - which Chaske Spencer is - far beyond Twilight standard in fact. I would go so far as to say Chaske is capable of becoming one of the great actors - Native or otherwise. It is now a moot point (I hope) but I wonder whether the reason he has only had three film roles 'til now in spite of his talent and 20 year acting experience is because he does not fit 'society's' image of what a Native person should look like - in the way that Solomon apparently does - and yet his is also still type cast as 'Native' and therefore not given any ethnically non-specific roles.